


Solace

by PerrythePlatypusGirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, I was one of the first to ship them and yet it took me this long to write a fic, in which I make shit up about Altea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 03:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15877350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerrythePlatypusGirl/pseuds/PerrythePlatypusGirl
Summary: Allura finds Matt in the Castle's library. They reminisce and hit it off. There may also be some dancing.





	Solace

Allura considered herself to be a level-headed person. Someone calm and collected, who could lead the coalition without letting her personal feelings get in the way. For the most part, she embodied that image pretty well.

But sometimes she got overwhelmed. Sometimes she got stressed, upset, tired...and just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She could go to the holo-deck, but that was currently down for maintenance. Memories were something Allura took solace in. They soothed her. So for now, she went to the next best thing: the castle library. There were plenty of old Altean logs in there, both informational and fictional stories. It was nostalgic, and there was usually nobody else in there. 

Usually. 

Allura breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the library, only to stiffen up again when she realized she wasn’t alone. Matt was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by various holo screens and jumping when he heard the door. The screens fizzled slightly as he stumbled back, and it took him a second to reorient himself.

“Uh, hey, Princess!” Matt stammered. “I-I was just...reading.”

Allura gave him a polite smile. “Matt. I didn’t know you’d be in here.”

Matt rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I had no idea the castle even had a library. There’s some really cool stuff in here.”

Allura chuckled and approached him. “I didn’t think you would be interested. Everything in here is over ten thousand years old. It’s ancient.”

“But that’s why it’s cool.” Matt turned back to the holo screens and pointed to one of them excitedly. “I found this one that talks about the advancement of magnetically-powered mechs on Altea. And how they fixed up the transport systems. A-and this one--” he haphazardly poked his finger at another screen. “Talks about some kind of festival? Where children could catch little lights in their hands?”

Allura beamed and clasped her hands together excitedly. “The Lights of Hasery Festival! Oh, I remember those! It was said that any child who attended and could hold one of the Haseries would be blessed for the whole year. My father would always carry me on his shoulders to make sure I could catch as many as possible.” She smiled fondly at the memory, before noticing that Matt was staring.

Matt looked away and cleared his throat, embarrassed at being caught. “Wow, that's...that sounds amazing.”

Allura moved to stand next to him. “Yes it was.” She watched as Matt’s hands tapped various other parts on the holo screens, and he gasped a few times in fascination of what he saw. Pictures flew by, bringing memories flooding back into Allura’s mind and tears at the edges of her eyes. “I’m….pleasantly surprised to see you so interested in Altean culture,” she told him. “None of the other Earthlings seemed to care quite as much as you.”

Matt flushed and looked toward the screens with a sheepish shrug. “Ah, yeah, I guess I do tend kinda geek out about this sort of stuff,” he replied. “I grew up in kind of a secluded area where everyone was exactly the same, so it was always cool to get out there and see what other people are like.” He shrugged. “But I loved space too, so I ended up joining the Garrison. My dad and I wanted to be the first humans to meet aliens from other planets and I was excited to see their way of life.”

Allura chuckled. “Well, it seems that you got your wish.” 

Matt gave a hollow laugh. “Yeah, I wasn't exactly hoping to get sucked into an intergalactic war. But there are a few bright sides I guess.” He turned to Allura as he said this, but then realized what he seemed to be implying and looked away with a cough. Allura was still smiling though.

They continued to stare at the images flashing by for a moment. Then Allura looked up at him again. “You know...I don't really know much about Earth.” 

Matt blinked. 

“What's your planet like?” Allura asked. “Earth’s culture.”

Matt laughed. “Earth culture? Well, I guess I could tell you about Midwest American culture. Earth has way too many different cultures to talk about, and it all just depends on where you live.”

Allura looked surprised. “Really? How many?”

“Oh man, a lot. Hundreds. Thousands, even. There's no way one human could tell you about all of them.” 

“All on one planet?” 

“Yeah. I guess that's what happens when we don't have contact with anyone in space--we just divide ourselves into groups instead.”

Matt’s tone was laced with slight bitter sarcasm, but Allura seemed fascinated. 

“We only had North and South,” she told him. “But thousands of cultures...that's amazing. I would love to go your planet one day. I want to see all of it.” 

“I could...take you.”

Allura stared up hopefully. 

“You know, after all this is over,” Matt rambled quickly. “And everyone heads back home. I bet the others also have a bunch of stuff they want to show you.” He took a breath, trying not to get to distracted by Allura’s smile. “Ah, anyway, if you really want to know how I lived...well, I remember we ate a lot of meatloaf. Took the bus to school all the time. Oh, and there was the state fair every year! Everyone went there. Pidge would kill us if we didn't go for at least a few days every year. Oh, and everyone knew how to dance, even if they hated it.” 

Allura giggled. 

“And when we were little, my parents took Pidge and I to Italy a few times, to see our grandparents,” Matt continued. “It was nice, everything was so lively at night. Though I mostly just remember how our grandparents would keep stuffing us with food even after we were already full.”

Allura burst out laughing, and Matt joined her. 

“Th-that sounds horrible,” Allura said, trying and failing to stifle her laugh.

“Nah, it's just how they were,” Matt shrugged. He took a moment to settle down and then smiled into the distance. “...Man, I kinda miss home, now that I think about it.”

Allura had also managed to stop laughing, but was still smiling up at him. “Don't worry, you'll get to go back. Hopefully soon. Once this war is over.” 

“Yeah…” She was right. They would all get to go home soon. Well, almost all of them.

Evidently Allura has reached the same conclusion. Her smile was gone and she was no staring wistfully at the holo-screens. Matt hesitated. 

“I’m really sorry about your planet, Allura,” he said softly. “It seems like it was a beautiful place.” 

“It was,” Allura sighed. “I wish I had more chances to come here, or to the holo-deck. It helps me cope. But there's not exactly much time to grieve when there's a war to be fought.”

Matt placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Allura faltered slightly, but appreciated the physical contact. She took a deep breath and wiped a tear from her eye as another image flickered on the screen.

“Oh, look,” she said softly. She pointed to the screen, where a picture of two happy Alteans dancing together was displayed. “The Dance of Meditation.” 

“The...Dance of Meditation?” Matt repeated, confused. 

“It was a traditional dance meant to soothe and relax people,” Allura informed him. “The movements were all based on physical comfort and slowing down.” She sighed. “I could certainly use that right about now.” 

Matt paused for a second. “Uh, well, we could--I mean, you could do it with me if you want.” 

“...really?”

“Well, you'll have to teach me,” Matt admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “But yeah. I did a lot of dancing growing up, so it shouldn't be too hard.” 

Allura just looked at him for a while before a huge smile appeared on her face. “That...sounds wonderful, Matt. Thank you.” She reached up to finally turn the holo-screens off, then she took Matt’s hand and led him to the middle of the room. He was stiff, but easily followed her when she showed him exactly how to position himself. 

The dance was slow all the way through, and at first Allura was worried that Matt would get impatient. Maybe Altean relaxation techniques wouldn't be as effective on humans. But soon, it was clear that she had nothing to worry about. Matt himself was starting to relax, and he followed her lead just fine, if a little awkward. 

The two of them lost track of the time as they continued to dance in the library, lulling themselves into a soothing rhythm. Finally. The dance ended, with Matt and Allura standing toe to toe, foreheads touching, breathing slowly. 

For a moment, it was quiet. Then Matt broke the silence. “Wow. That actually worked.” He pulled away from her slightly to give one of his goofy smiles. “That must have been some kind of Altean magic.” 

Allura grinned and shook her head. “Not that I know of. But I'm glad it did work. I feel much better now. Thank you, Matt. I-I couldn't have done it without a partner.”

Matt looked stunned, but elated at the same time. He smiled. “Yeah, of course. Anytime.”

Again, they paused. For a second, everything seemed like it was all okay. 

Then Allura pulled back, slowly. “I...suppose we should go and check on how he others are doing. We’ve been here for a while.” 

Matt nodded, a little disappointed. “Yeah, you're right. We should see what they're up to. Pidge probably tried to reprogram the entire castle while neither of us were around to stop her.” 

Allura rolled her eyes. “Guess we’d better go reel her in, then.” 

They opened the door to be flooded by the blinding lights of the castle and the noise that came with it. But neither Allura nor Matt seemed to mind. They’d already found a way to calm their anxieties, in their memories, in the library, and in each other.


End file.
